Buying furniture or equipment for a care home
Before ordering, obtain the care home's written acceptance of the exact product for your relative, with named responsibility for assessment, installation, staff operation, maintenance and costs. Record ownership and removal arrangements if the resident leaves. Factory documents can be gathered by Cambridge China Bridge.
Get written acceptance before committing
Ask the manager authorised to accept privately purchased items to approve the exact model, specification, intended user and room in writing. Clarify whether approval is conditional on assessment, documents or arrival checks. A delivery booking should not be treated as permission to use the item. Hold the order while acceptance remains unresolved.
Give the home photographs, dimensions, materials, intended functions and English instructions. Ask what fire-safety, electrical-safety and cleaning evidence it wants for this product and setting. Put the accepted details in your product specification; use our furniture sourcing guide for wider furniture checks.
Agree suitability for your relative
Involve your relative as far as possible and ask the home who will assess their individual needs. Discuss posture, pressure care, transfers, mobility, understanding of controls and preferences. Ask whether the proposed item works with the care plan and existing equipment, rather than choosing solely because it resembles the home's furniture.
Record who makes the suitability decision and what changes trigger reassessment, such as altered mobility or a different mattress. Use our bed-rail compatibility guide for rails and handles. Our medical-device sourcing guide covers broader product checks; keep those checks separate from the individual assessment.
Plan delivery, installation and release for use
Agree who measures doorways, lifts and room clearances, books delivery, unloads, assembles and removes packaging. Identify who accepts responsibility for installation, wall fixings, electrical connections and compatibility checks where relevant. Confirm the home will accommodate those arrangements before paying the supplier.
Specify who checks the installed item and authorises its use. Ask for an installation record identifying the product, location, checks and outstanding faults. Agree where it will be kept if it arrives damaged or cannot be accepted, who contacts the seller and who pays for storage, correction or removal.
Confirm staff can operate it
HSE guidance highlights the value of suitable, maintained equipment operated by trained staff. For medical devices, the MHRA checklist asks whether the user or carer has been trained and assessed as competent. Ask the home how it will establish competence with the exact model before use.
Agree who provides demonstrations and English instructions, how unfamiliar or agency staff get guidance, and where operating information is kept. Include controls, accessories, routine checks and action during a fault or power failure where relevant. Confirm that staff will undertake the intended tasks and arrange alternative care if the item is unavailable.
Allocate maintenance, repairs and costs
Write down who cleans the item, performs routine checks, arranges servicing and keeps records. Ask the home and proposed maintenance provider to review the manufacturer's instructions before purchase. Confirm access to suitable parts and support for the exact model, including who handles communication with the factory.
Separate the seller's warranty from the home's maintenance arrangements. Agree who pays for labour, parts, call-outs and temporary replacement equipment, and who authorises expenditure. Name the person who can stop use after a fault and who decides it is ready to return to service. Keep factory contact details and product identifiers with the records.
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Record ownership and the exit arrangements
State whether the item belongs to your relative, the purchaser or the home, and whether it is a gift or provided for that resident's use. Keep invoices and an agreed inventory identifying the item. Record whether the home may move it between rooms or make it available to other residents, and whose agreement it should obtain.
Agree what happens after a room change, hospital stay, permanent move or death: who contacts the family, arranges safe removal and pays for dismantling, transport or storage. Record a collection arrangement and how any proposed disposal will be authorised. Ask the receiving home to assess and accept the item before arranging transfer. Cambridge China Bridge's own staff in China can obtain factory information for these discussions.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy my relative a chair for their care home?
Ask the home to accept the exact chair in writing before ordering. Confirm individual suitability, cleaning, delivery, staff assistance and who owns it.
Is the care home's verbal approval enough?
Ask for written confirmation from the authorised manager identifying the product, resident, conditions of acceptance and who will approve use after installation.
Who maintains equipment bought by a resident's family?
Agree this before buying. Name who performs checks, arranges servicing, keeps records and pays for repairs. Keep warranty support separate from those arrangements.
Can we take the furniture when our relative moves?
Record ownership and collection arrangements before purchase. Agree removal costs and any storage arrangements, then obtain the receiving home's acceptance before transfer.